Broadway Cemetery Historic District (Old City Cemetery)
This six-block district holds seven burial grounds platted from 1839 to 1939, including the Old City Cemetery, Potter's Field, the Old Catholic Cemetery, and a Yellow Fever yard. Thousands of people are interred here, among them pioneers, Civil War soldiers, victims of the 1867 yellow fever epidemic that killed 725 islanders, and casualties of the 1900 Storm, many in unmarked graves. The most-cited ghost is Nicaragua Smith, an arsonist and Confederate deserter executed by firing squad on January 8, 1863, said to be the cemetery's most vocal spirit. Visitors and tour groups report disembodied voices, apparitions among the weathered headstones, and cold spots, particularly in the yellow fever section. The cemetery is a fixture of Galveston's haunted walking tours and is documented by Ghost City Tours, with its history recorded in the National Register Historic District listing.
📍 4112 Broadway, Galveston, TX 77550, Galveston, TX · Get directions